Automobile manufacturers have recently begun to include head-up displays and vehicle-to-vehicle communications in their car designs in an attempt to provide drivers with information. Head-up displays can be designed to focus a driver's attention in front of them instead of other areas within the vehicle and vehicle-to-vehicle communications can allow vehicles to converse with one another. None of these systems, either alone or in combination, have solved situational awareness issues for the driver.
In one example, a trailing vehicle's view of vehicles in front of them is often obscured. While information provided on a head-up display has been useful, content on the display has been limited. For example, content has been limited to two-dimensional images referencing vehicle and navigational information. Current systems have also failed to take advantage of vehicle-to-vehicle communications to overcome situational awareness issues. These communications have been limited to alerting others of potential hazards such as potholes or police activities. As a result, a vehicle-to-vehicle communication system providing a spatiotemporal look ahead and method thereof is needed.